


Locked Up and Set Free

by Dee_Laundry



Category: House M.D.
Genre: After Tritter, Friendship, Gen, Prison, Regret
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-01-11
Updated: 2007-01-10
Packaged: 2017-10-15 18:52:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/163841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dee_Laundry/pseuds/Dee_Laundry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Action and inaction; proximity and distance; consequence and meaning. What Wilson says; what House does.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Nightdog_Barks](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nightdog_Barks/gifts).



> Spoilers up to episode 3-10, "Merry Little Christmas." Deviates completely from canon after that.
> 
> Written for the ever-excellent [](http://nightdog-barks.livejournal.com/profile)[**nightdog_barks**](http://nightdog-barks.livejournal.com/) , who prompted: “Wilson goes to prison for House.” Thanks to [](http://perspi.livejournal.com/profile)[**perspi**](http://perspi.livejournal.com/) and [](http://purridot.livejournal.com/profile)[**purridot**](http://purridot.livejournal.com/) for the encouragement and [](http://daisylily.livejournal.com/profile)[**daisylily**](http://daisylily.livejournal.com/) and [](http://bironic.livejournal.com/profile)[**bironic**](http://bironic.livejournal.com/) for the beta.

House wonders sometimes if the apology is to blame for all of this. He wonders when he calls for an oncology consult, which isn’t very often these days – the challenge in oncology’s not the diagnosis, it’s the treatment. He wonders when he eats particularly good pancakes, or particularly bad ones, and when he sees a specific type of silver Volvo.

If he hadn’t apologized when he did, Wilson would’ve still been pissed at him when the trial started. House might have been convicted or he might have got off scot free, but either way Wilson –

This is usually as far as he gets on this hobble down memory lane before someone interrupts. He’s always embarrassingly grateful for the interruption and he _always_ takes it out on whomever’s closest. He won’t talk to Trish or Dean about it, but they’re each smart enough to avoid Auto Row on Highway One when House is in the passenger seat.

* * *

Preliminary hearings over, the trial itself was due to start tomorrow. Gregory House stood accused of fraud for forging James Wilson’s signature on prescriptions, and of theft for taking a dead patient’s pills.

He had a moment of weakness – narcotics out of his system, maudlin reflection, and the pain not quite as bad as it could be – and Wilson caught him just then. House took a look into soft brown eyes that couldn’t hide their concern even behind the fireball of anger, and his control slipped. He saw exactly what he’d done wrong and apologized for it.

Wilson’s anger didn’t completely die out, but it damped down considerably. ”You still owe me,” he said seriously, and House nodded, looking at his feet.

That was it, no hug, not even a quarter-hug bump of shoulder to shoulder, and certainly no professions of undying admiration and fealty. But it was enough, as was so clearly demonstrated when Wilson opened his mouth on the stand.

“The signatures on those prescriptions are mine.”

The prosecuting attorney’s eyes widened, and House imagined he could hear his respiration rate increase. “Dr. Wilson?”

“Those are my signatures. As I told the detective, sometimes I would get bored and sign my name a different way.”

The prosecutor was still struggling to absorb this change in his witness’s attitude. After House’s overdose, Wilson had promised the district attorney’s office he would testify. House found out later that the prosecutor had prepped Wilson to within an inch of his life and had been as confident of his testimony as he had ever been of any witness.

“If I were to pull up your prescriptions for other patients, would I find similarly ‘amusing’ changes to your typical signature?”

“I can’t recall every single one of the thousands of prescriptions I’ve signed, but probably not,” Wilson replied nonchalantly. ”Then again, none of my patients have had quite the same sense of humor as Greg House – I doubt they would’ve even noticed the variations, much less enjoyed them.”

From his seat next to his attorney, House smirked. He’d never bothered to learn much about how juries worked, but he knew a lot about lying. Adding a peculiar personal element to the lie increased its believability substantially.

“And the fact that these variations only occurred during a few-month span indicates what?”

Wilson paused and looked down. _No, no_ , House thought, even as he kept his face impassive. _You’re blowing it, Jimmy – looking down indicates you’ve got something to hide._

“We were… arguing,” Wilson continued, as he caught the eye of a young female juror and gave a small, embarrassed smile. _You sly dog, how did I ever doubt you?_ House thought. ”We’re friends, but we’re men, you know, not much for talking about our feelings. This seemed an indirect enough way to communicate some good will.”

The prosecutor had finally recovered his mojo, and brought the line of questioning back to sturdier ground. He held up a piece of paper, waving it slightly. ”Dr. Wilson, what you’ve said today directly contradicts the sworn statement you gave to Detective Tritter.”

“I’m aware of that.” Wilson’s face was open; his eyes were serious but not grave. ”I lied in the statement.”

House heard his attorney subtly, discreetly shift in his seat. He could practically feel the excitement waving off the man, but a quick glance showed he was hiding it well. House held back a smirk, frowning instead, as if in disapproval of his lying friend.

“Your sworn testimony is that you lied in an official statement to the police?”

“Yes.”

“What would make you do that, Dr. Wilson?”

“Detective Tritter wanted House to go to jail. I knew him better; I knew he belonged in rehab instead. Telling the detective what he wanted to hear seemed the best way to accomplish that.” Wilson smiled at the jury again, and House counted three women and one man smiling back.

The steam went out of the prosecution’s case after that. The second charge of narcotics theft for Zebalusky’s prescription was similarly dispatched a few days later by another lie on the stand, but in truth Wilson’s boyish charm had sealed the acquittal already.

When the verdict was read, House raised his arms in triumph and turned to the gallery behind him. In his joy, he had decided to be generous and allow Wilson to hug him, but he’d somehow blocked out the fact that Wilson wasn’t there. He was in his own hearing, trying to fight federal obstruction and perjury charges.

His attorney’s arms around him were like a vise, and the pressure in House’s chest remained even after he let go.

* * *

They didn’t have much of a chance to talk over the next few weeks. House had four critical patients, one after the other, and Wilson had legal meetings and administrative details he had to clear up, and –

And House was grasping at anything at all to avoid having any discussions. The way he felt was a tangle of mess that pulsed and writhed. His thoughts on the issue were sly and wild, prone to dart off in any direction. He finally girded himself as a lion tamer, with chair and whip, and forced them all into a small, isolated cage. He didn’t need Wilson rattling the bars.

In off moments, Cameron would stare at him malevolently. He knew she’d given Wilson hell for his part in House’s forced detox; apparently, she’d now re-cast the role of villain. House made faces at her to pass the time and then piled on the lab work to get her out of his hair. Foreman and Chase wisely kept their mouths shut.

Cuddy probably had something to say about it, but House had memorized the pitch of her voice and become selectively deaf to it. She could have been offering him wild sex, repeatedly, in her office, with leather and spanking, and he wouldn’t know a damn thing about it.

Wilson’s voice – now, blocking that timbre out was a lot harder.

He loaded ton-weights on top of the cage, reinforced it with Plexiglas, and quit running. He let Wilson find him, let Wilson talk, and he listened. He listened to Wilson’s struggles to find a replacement for himself and settle his department. He listened to Wilson’s concerns about how this all looked for the hospital, even though Cuddy had reassured him they’d weather it just fine. He listened to Wilson’s copious research and analysis into what life would be like in a minimum-security prison, because of course Wilson prepared like it was the MCAT or the Boards. He listened to Wilson’s anxieties, his ideas, his worries, and his small victories, and never said a thing. Because what could House say? He’d never been through it.

He was in his office chair, hunched over, back to his door, ostensibly reaching for a book on a low shelf – but reaching wasn’t supposed to take a half-hour, now was it? – when the words hit him. High and hard, a fastball. But when he turned, Wilson, standing just on the other side of House’s desk, was relaxed. In Wilson’s mind, it must have been a light floater, but he wasn’t the batter, wasn’t the one having to shake away the sting.

“All right, I’m done here,” Wilson repeated. ”My replacement has been oriented, office cleared, patients re-assigned, administrivia totally completed. If I knock off an hour early, do you think Cuddy will fire me?”

“Not a chance,” House replied, and Wilson’s expression hit wistful. House wanted to take it all back, the thing he’d just said, and the things that he’d done, and, hell, he’d go back and lubricate the cop’s dry pubic area with his fucking saliva if it would mean this moment would never be here.

“Want to come over?” House asked, and it was woefully inadequate.

“No, thanks. I still have some things to take to my parents’ place, and I’ll probably just stay there tonight.”

“I can take them for you later.”

Wilson rolled his eyes and smiled his most satisfied, and therefore most charming, smile. “You just want me to buy you dinner. And I would, too, but then we’d probably get drunk and I’d be in terrible shape tomorrow. It’s almost six hours to Morgantown, and you know I can’t stand being hung-over during long car rides. Just the hour back from Newark that one time almost did me in.”

House remembered that trip and laughed. Their first “divorce celebration” party, and they’d shut down the strip club, caught a three a.m. showing of some god-awful movie, and spent two hours nursing coffee and toast at a disgusting diner. Wilson had left a fifty-dollar tip for the strippers and a hundred-dollar tip for the waitress.

“You could come over for a little while, and then go to your parents’.” That _might_ not have sounded like pleading; House couldn’t trust his ears any more.

“Nope. I think we should just say goodbye here.”

The cage broke, bars snapping, _ping, ping, ping_. Everything raced out, colliding and scattering and coming back around again in a feverish whirling cloud. House reached out and blindly grabbed into the cloud for something to say.

“You’re angry at me.” God, he sounded like a toddler. His best friend was leaving tomorrow for a federal prison for twelve months, and all he could talk about was himself. Well, why not be typical at this late stage of the game? Give ‘em what they came for.

“Yes, House, I am angry at you,” Wilson replied calmly. House caught his eyes and couldn’t look away. ”I’m angry at you because you let your pain management get way out of hand and wouldn’t ask anyone for help and were a stubborn idiot bastard and…” Wilson trailed off, pursed his lips, and closed his eyes.

“So, not angry at all then?”

Wilson took a breath and opened his eyes again. ”You still owe me for all that. But I’m not angry at you because I’m going to jail. I did what I had to do. You’re better off for it, and the world’s better off for it. That’s good.”

House looked down, trailed a finger across his desk. ”If I said thank you…”

“And gave me a heart attack?” Wilson interrupted, amused. ”They’d send me to the hospital ward instead of general population, but I’d still be going to prison.”

House nodded. All the things in his mind were moving at just as furious a pace, but they’d all blended together now and were coating the inside of his head. The consistency of blood, smacking and spattering. He needed to look up, get up, make this moment count, give Wilson some kind of good memory to carry with him, but he couldn’t do it. The twisting dervish had grabbed his brain, shredded rational thought, and disabled his motor functions. Any moment now it’d suck in the autonomic nervous system, and his heart would blessedly stop.

“Use your time wisely, House.” The warmth in Wilson’s voice was painful to hear. ”Make me proud.”

He finally got his neck to move and looked up. Wilson was at the door, looking back over his shoulder. He smiled again and said, “I’ll be seeing you.”

House’s mouth opened slowly, but before any words could come out, Wilson was gone. “I’ll miss you” hung in the air, unheard, for a very, very long time.

* * *

It took him three months to get his act together and get out to visit Wilson.

First, because he wasn’t legally an immediate family member, Wilson had to send him frigging background forms to fill out on himself. He wouldn’t let Cameron touch them because, frankly, he didn’t want her knowing that much about him. So he had to do them himself, and of course when he was midway through he lost the forms. Wilson bitched and grumped and then sent a second set that House almost lost but then found again and hastily completed before any more mischief could happen. He deigned to let Cameron add the postage, and ten business days later, _voila_ , he was officially approved as a visitor for Wilson, James E., at the Federal Correctional Institution in Morgantown, West Virginia.

Then he had a patient, then another one, and Wilson’s calls turned from steamed to resigned. It hurt to hear Wilson give up, again, and House resolved that the next weekend would definitely be the one.

Friday night he slipped in the bathroom and strained something, so Saturday he barely even made it out of bed to the couch.

After a day of rest (and action movies and _Baywatch_ reruns and he was pretty sure he called Morgantown to ask them to tell Wilson he couldn’t make it until the next day, so the curses were totally uncalled for), Sunday morning he was up, dressed, and ready to go by ten. Proudly – because God, it was early – he gave the directions one last glance and then his eye skipped down the page. Fuck. Visiting hours were over at three; there was no way he’d make it in time. _Fuck._

The next Friday he left Princeton at three in the afternoon and was checking in at the Morgantown Comfort Inn before ten. It being the closest hotel to the prison, he admonished the bushy-haired, acne-scarred desk clerk for the lack of “Welcome, Convict Loved Ones” banners. Apparently the clerk wasn’t new, though, for she just pointed out that _Hard Time Harry Drops the Soap_ was available for rent through the TV for only $11.99.

“I’m visiting my son,” House haughtily replied.

“What’s he, about twenty-two? Got your eyes? Yeah, he’s in the movie – third scene. He gets raped, but he likes it.”

House snatched away the receipt and the key and retreated to his room.

On Saturday he made it to the prison by ten but got stopped for wearing khaki pants. Perusing the visitor regulation list in more detail, House discovered that khaki was reserved for prisoners only. He had to change into yesterday’s jeans in his car and ended up inadvertently mooning a young woman as she walked by. He would have been embarrassed if she’d stared at his ass, but he was mortified to find her staring at his scar. “Got it in prison,” he yelled at her. ”Your boyfriend bit me when he caught me dicking another prag!”

Getting frisked by a guard, House could feel irritation spreading throughout every one of his cells. Even his hair was irritated. He had left his Vicodin in the car, sure that wasn’t allowed, but they took his cell phone, sunglasses, and a packet of Slim Jims. ”I’m prone to low blood sugar,” he protested, untruthfully, but the guard just shrugged and told him to buy something from the vending machine.

House started to protest, but the guard pushed him along. Needless to say, he was not in the best of moods by the time he finally got to see Wilson.

Smiling, Wilson rose from an ugly plastic chair next to an uglier plastic table. His smile turned into a smirk when he got a closer look at House’s face.

“Did you bring Cuddy and she bitched you out the whole time about Clinic hours? Or did you bring Cameron and she wanted you to emote?”

“Funny. It’s just me.”

They’d spent hundreds upon hundreds of hours together outside the hospital. House had seen Wilson in t-shirts, sweatshirts, Hawaiian shirts, sports jerseys, turtlenecks, casual sweaters, pajama tops, scrubs, and occasionally no shirt at all (beach, pool, that sort of thing). Even with all that history, it still felt strangely wrong that Wilson wasn’t wearing a tie.

Wilson tilted his head and just looked for a moment. ”It is good to see you,” he said seriously.

“I’d kiss you hello, but we’re not allowed to offend the sensitivities of anyone in the room. Who knew you cons were such a delicate bunch?”

“Yeah, all us jailbirds are pretty lily-livered. How about a handshake instead?” Wilson hadn’t put out his hand, though; House knew he knew what the answer would be.

“Nah, moment’s over.” House dropped into a second plastic chair and started inspecting the room.

After a short pause, Wilson sat as well.

“You can’t even buy me lunch,” House continued, “because the stupid regulations say inmates can’t carry money in this room.”

“And I was so looking forward to that, too.” Wilson’s tone was off, somehow, and House looked up sharply. The expression on his face was expectant and perfectly pleasant, but it was… wrong. Different. Odd. House didn’t like it one bit.

He decided to soldier on anyway, starting with ignoring Wilson in favor of looking over the other khaki-wearers. They seemed too old – late thirties to mid-fifties, mostly – and too well-groomed to be cons. Zookeepers, that’s what they reminded him of. Zookeepers stuck in cages – must have been an animal revolution.

“House? Are you planning on talking to me? Because just sitting here smelling your musk is pretty boring.”

House had turned his torso away from Wilson; now he lolled his head back over his shoulder to glimpse the man sideways. ”Like you have anything better to do.” He twisted back around to face Wilson fully. ”I’m just trying to figure out who’s made you his bitch.”

The downturn of Wilson’s lips and brow was swift and sweetly familiar. ”This is minimum-security, House. It’s not like that. Besides, the health care here is for shit, so my medical skills have made me the guy to know.”

After raising his eyebrow, House tried out a Wilson-like expression of disapproval. “You’re not supposed to practice without a license.”

Probably not a successful imitation; the glare Wilson gave in return had too much anger and not enough fondness.

“I can certainly provide first aid,” he replied huffily, “and talk to people about health issues. Besides, did I mention the health care here was crap? The warden and the one full-time nurse they have are too grateful for my help to be picky.”

“Even in prison you find yourself a nurse to chase.” House smirked and went on. ”You get a lot of knife fights?”

“I repeat: minimum-security. A lot of hypertension, Type II diabetes, stress-related illnesses. Muscle strains are common too – most of the guys are somewhat out of shape when they get here, then they push themselves too hard on the court or in the weight room.”

“You give them the benefit of your personal experience?”

Wilson sat back and crossed his arms. ”Are you insulting my previous level of fitness, or are you complimenting how I look now?”

“You know I like to multi-task,” House said, and started twirling his cane. ”Why have a sentence mean just one thing when you can have it mean two?”

“I’m taking the compliment and rejecting the insult.”

Well, that was an unusually blunt piece of backbone. Interesting.

“I’m hungry,” House whined. ”What’s in the vending machines?”

Wilson waved to the side of the room. ”Go look for yourself. Bring me a Pepsi, if you can spare the dough.”

As House got up to check the machines out, a red-haired man in his early forties stole his seat. ”Sorry to bother you,” he said quickly to Wilson.

“It’s fine, Jeff. What can I do for you?”

“I just had a quick question. My wife says her OB is telling her that…”

Dullsville. House quit listening in favor of making his snack selections. There wasn’t that much to choose from, but at least it wasn’t generic crap. He grabbed two bags of chips, a candy bar, and a Sprite and turned back towards Wilson. He had taken one step when he noticed Wilson’s eyes boring into his. As he started to mouth “What?” he remembered: a Pepsi. Heaving a large and loud sigh, he bought the Pepsi and carried the whole bounty back to their table. Mr. Soon-to-have-spawn had fortunately scampered back to the missus.

Wilson snatched the Pepsi just as House had been about to drop it. ”Which of these chips is mine?”

“You asked for a drink; you got a drink,” House replied, dragging both bags of chips into his own lap. The candy was already in his back pocket for safe-keeping. ”This is my lunch, since I’m stuck in here babysitting you.”

It was Wilson’s turn to sigh, but he kept it quiet and brief. After enduring almost a full minute of silence, House shoved the less-favored bag of chips toward Wilson. He took two and left the package on the table.

The room was full of people chattering away, but the silence around him and Wilson seemed completely empty. House munched and slurped to fill it up, but the sounds hit an invisible wall and dropped like stones to the floor.

Into the dead zone came a loud and boisterous voice. ”Jimmy! Tell me you get prettier visitors than this!”

A palm slapped House’s back, and a piece of chip flew into his windpipe. As he was coughing, his assailant was pulling up a chair. Wilson had the nerve to smile at the man and tease him, saying, “I thought all the pretty girls in the state were yours.”

Wilson glanced back at House but ignored the dying remnants of coughs. ”House, meet a new friend of mine. This is Donovan. Donovan, this is House, an _old_ friend of mine.”

“Quite old, it looks. Although I guess I’m not one to talk.” Donovan rubbed a hand through his full head of white hair and laughed.

“So you’re in for assault,” House said, his ire up and his throat still sore.

Wilson rolled his eyes and turned his chair a few degrees away from House. ”He’s here for nonpayment of alimony.”

“Divorcé club, how fun.”

With a twinkle in his eye, Donovan shook his head. ”The bitch got exactly what she deserved. I told her she’d get a check for every time she’d given me head during our marriage. She got her one check and that’s all she’s getting.”

From the way Wilson laughed indulgently, it seemed to be an oft-repeated joke. House was not impressed.

Donovan leaned forward, a little bit too close for House’s comfort. ”We all know about Jimmy’s 1-2-3. What about you? Got an ex-wife?”

House looked at Wilson quickly, then away toward the other side of the room. ”Kind of. Weren’t married.”

“Good for you. Let a woman into your bed for sure, into your heart if you must, but never let her into your accounts.” Donovan smirked and turned to Wilson. ”We’re on for cards later, right?”

“Yep.”

With another thwack, this one to Wilson’s back, thank God, the other prisoner was gone. Wilson’s smile faded a little, and he looked down toward the floor.

“Tell me what’s going on at the hospital,” he said to his shoes.

The last Diagnostics case had been particularly cool, and House’s insights leading to the diagnosis had been particularly clever, so that story took a while to tell. House then went on to recap the most annoying Clinic patients of the past few months, and the ingenious mechanism he had devised to pass off most of his administrative work on a new nurse who wanted to go to medical school and an intern who was hot for Chase. He was in the middle of recounting his latest battle with Brenda, who was now Head of Nursing, when Wilson interrupted.

“Yeah, yeah, that’s you. What else is happening?”

Taken aback, House stared at him. ”What do you mean?”

Wilson fixed him with the high-horse, down-the-nose look that was House’s least favorite Wilson expression. ”What is happening in general, not specific to you? How about Cuddy? What’s she up to?”

“She went on a shopping spree a few weeks back. She has this new blouse that –”

Wilson interrupted again. ”I didn’t ask for a fashion review. I can imagine her shirts just fine. What’s she been doing? Any new action on the Board? New donors? Did the Alzheimer’s study get funded?”

House blinked. He didn’t know; he didn’t care; it hadn’t occurred to him that Wilson would care.

“Fine,” Wilson sighed. ”Just get Cameron to start sending me the monthly newsletter and the department head roundups, OK?” Wilson was disappointed, resigned.

This visit hadn’t been what House expected at all. They hadn’t laughed once. Not one of House’s stories had amused Wilson; he hadn’t even put on his fondly exasperated face. House could feel the anger starting to build. What was this bullshit? Wilson always gave House what he needed. Always.

“I –” he began, but then a hand clamped down on Wilson’s shoulder. It was yet another inmate, this one in his early thirties, lean, with eyes that were almost as warm as Wilson’s.

“Basketball time, my man. You in?”

Wilson looked at House, and House tried with all his might to hold onto his gaze, but Wilson’s eyes slid away easily and aimed themselves up at the new man’s face. “Definitely. Just let me say goodbye; I’ll be there in a second.”

House ground his teeth so hard that the ache distracted him from the pain in his leg. There was no handshake in the farewell, either.

They gave him his cell and his sunglasses back when he left, but the Slim Jims were nowhere to be found. ”Food items are destroyed,” the guard droned, completely ignoring House’s glare.

As he got to the door, House glanced back. A different guard was chewing as he read a magazine, the long cylinder of dried beef in his hand bouncing through the air as if conducting an orchestra.

* * *

The drive back to New Jersey was boring and uneventful. The evening (turned to night turned to early morning) at home was boring and uneventful. By the middle of the next morning, as he paced around his office, House was going to shoot somebody if he had to endure one more minute of nothing.

So he called Chase and ordered him in to the hospital.

“But, but – it’s Cameron’s turn with the on-call pager today.”

“But, but,” House mocked, “Cameron’s not the one I want to do this work. Get your ass in here.”

“We don’t have a patient.” _Not today, Chase_ , House thought. _Today’s not the day you can grow a spine._

“We will soon. Hup, two, hup, two – get here in fifteen minutes or you’re fired.” House refrained from slamming the phone down, but it was a near thing.

Chase made it to the conference room in thirteen and a half minutes. ”Good,” House said, as Chase was hanging up his coat. ”Here it is: rare diseases. Anything affecting fewer than a thousand people in the U.S. Go.”

Chase was baffled. ”What am I looking for? What are the patient’s symptoms?”

“You’re here to learn,” House replied blithely, “so this is a learning exercise. Can’t diagnose what you haven’t heard of.” Waving off any other questions, he retreated to his office.

Chase spent the next two hours huddled over his laptop; House spent the time playing videogames and resolutely not thinking. When his souped-up racing bike clipped the wall around a city-center penitentiary, House snapped the monitor off and stomped back into the conference room.

“I’m hungry,” he declared to Chase. ”Get your coat; we’re going to lunch.”

Chase glanced up, but his shoulders remained hunched. ”I’d rather just stay and finish, and eat later.”

“Who needs a recommendation if he hopes to move up in his career? Is it me? Oh, no, it’s not. Put your coat on.” House shrugged into his jacket, and after a moment’s hesitation, Chase did the same.

Leading him out into the corridor, House noted, “There’s a new barbecue place I heard was good.”

“I hate barbecue.”

“What?” House jabbed the elevator button with his cane. ”Nobody _hates_ barbecue.”

“I do.” Chase was tugging at the collar of his shirt. Even without a tie, the shirt seemed to clash.

“I’m sure they have something else, hamburgers or something. You’ll be fine.” As they stepped into the elevator, he continued, “You’re driving.”

Chase’s car was a piece of crap. House fiddled with the air vents, tried to avoid the rips in the upholstery, and gave vague, almost-too-late directions to the restaurant. He didn’t say anything else until they were waiting in line for their food.

“Do you know if the Alzheimer’s study got funded?” House dumped his pork and brisket platter on Chase’s tray and eyed the lemonade dispenser. Bottled soda was safer.

“Which one?” Chase asked, as he struggled to fit his own meal on the tray as well. “Gerontology’s study on social support structures was funded, and they’ve started enrolling patients. The one Neurology wants to do is still in review. You should ask Foreman about it; he helped to write the proposal.”

They sat and ate. The pork wasn’t bad, but the brisket was dry. House was still determinedly not thinking. He stole a French fry from Chase’s plate; Chase pretended not to see.

The question popped into his head and out of his mouth before he knew it. ”What do you do away from the hospital?”

Looking baffled by the question, Chase replied intelligently, “What?”

House sighed. ”Come on, Chase, you do have a couple of brain cells in there, I think. When you’re not doing my bidding, what do you do?”

“I’m just shocked. That’s the first time you’ve actually asked me about myself in a relatively friendly manner.”

Sneering, House replied, “And it’s going so well that I can’t wait to do it again.” He was not going to explain this. No way. ”Come on, spill.”

Chase took a long draw from his drink. ”Well, I don’t have that much free time, so no big hobbies. I go to the gym, play basketball. I read – non-fiction mostly, biographies and history. I have a lot of old mates from Australia that I keep up with through email. Weekends I like to go out – dinner with friends, clubs, that kind of thing.” He shrugged. “Normal stuff.”

“I see.” Normal stuff. Sounded like the kinds of things Donovan might like to do. Or Mr. Soon-to-have-spawn, or Warm-eyed Basketball Guy. Or Wilson, James E.

He shook out of his reverie when Chase leaned toward him a fraction. ”What about you?”

House scowled at Chase’s misconception that this was small talk. ”You don’t want to know. Eat your burger.”

They ate the rest of their meal in silence. When the check came, Chase handed over a twenty and House reluctantly covered the rest.

During the walk to the car, Chase began telling House about the rare diseases he’d learned about so far. That carried them all the way back to the Diagnostics office. House nodded in his equivalent of a pat on the back and spent the rest of the afternoon in his own office listening to music.

Monday he mistimed his Vicodin and his leg hurt like a bitch all day. Tuesday Cameron made him sign something, and House suddenly remembered.

“Wilson wants you to send him the hospital’s newsletter every month. He also said something about rodeos but I didn’t get that.” He handed her back the folder and pen.

Cameron frowned prettily in concerned concentration. ”Rodeo? What could he have meant by that?”

As he pushed past her, House shrugged. ”It was something cowboy-related. Departmental buckaroos or cattle drives or something.”

“Roundup!” she cried happily. ”Department head roundups. I guess you wouldn’t recognize that, never having looked at any of them.”

He turned and glared. She was wearing an especially ugly vest today that squashed down her chest even more than normal. ”Don’t get smart with me, missy. Just send him the damn things.”

* * *

Things got busy, and then not. The Clinic was slow for a while, until Cuddy discovered and put a stop to House’s anti-advertising campaign. He upgraded his TiVo. Calls from Morgantown came when they came. Steve McQueen died; House threw his cage out on the next trash day. Foreman periodically made noises about going into private practice but kept his arrogant ass where it belonged.

House forgot what stuffed peppers tasted like.

One late afternoon, he was building an elaborate domino structure on the floor of his office ( _patient presents with dry mouth, dry eyes, extreme fatigue, swollen cheeks and jaw: Sjorgen’s syndrome – order Schirmer tear test and rose Bengal stain –underlying conditions include rheumatoid arthritis and lupus_ ) when he noticed several books missing from a bottom shelf. Old medical textbooks and the prior two editions of the Physicians’ Desk Reference, nothing critical, but why the hell were they gone?

He pulled himself up using the ottoman and his cane, and stomped into the conference room, noting idly that Foreman was still in the Clinic. ”Chase, your patient’s got Sjorgen’s syndrome. Get a Schirmer tear test and do a rose Bengal stain to confirm, and then test for underlying lupus.”

As Chase rose, Cameron turned and protested, “If it’s autoimmune, I should be involved.”

“Yeah, yeah, you can get your jollies in a minute. Go, Chase.” When he and Cameron were alone, he stepped closer so he was looking down at her. ”Where are the books from my office? I sense your save-the-world attitude in their disappearance.”

He expected a flush, from either his accusation or his nearness to her personal space, but she just stared at him. ”Wilson asked for them back. They were his originally, right? You took them when he, um, left. I figured it was okay to send them.”

He forced himself not to react. ”It’s fine; I just forgot Wilson asked,” he lied. ”When did you send them?”

“Three weeks ago. Can I catch up with Chase now?” She was already halfway out the door.

“Yeah, go.” House moved slowly back to his office and collected his things. How had he not known about the books? Wilson had called Cameron and not him.

As he walked to his bike, he thought it through. The last time he had talked to Wilson, they had had that patient with dengue fever. That was… two months ago. He hadn’t talked to Wilson in two months. He knew he’d thought about Wilson since then but couldn’t remember when the last time was.

When he got home, he sat underneath the spray in his shower staring at the tiles until the hot water ran out.

* * *

In December Wilson’s mother sent a holiday card to House at the hospital. Cameron claimed it as a department card and taped it up near the coffee maker with the cards from drug reps. A few days later the tape released, and the card fell with a clatter and got stuck behind the cabinet.

* * *

The tapping of sleet on his window had grown lighter and lighter throughout the evening, and House’s hopes of a day off due to the weather had faded with it.

He was rummaging through the top drawer of his desk at home, looking for a receipt to throw in his tax folder, when he came across the calendar stuck in the back. It was small, just three inches by four inches, with a red cover with “2007/2008” stamped on it: a two-year month-at-a-glance calendar he’d gotten as a freebie somewhere, early in ‘07. He’d written only a few notes in it before it disappeared.

He rubbed the cover once – some leather substitute – before opening it up. Now he remembered why he’d never cared about the loss: the space for each date was tiny. There was a heart on his mom’s birthday, and he had to laugh at the tiny skull and crossbones he’d drawn on his dad’s birthday.

After flipping back to the first page, he looked through it chronologically. Most months there was nothing at all, but a note in the current month caught his eye. On the space for the Saturday before last, eleven days ago, he had written in capital letters, “WOUT.”

“Wout”? What had he meant by “wout”? He wracked his brain but had no memory of it at all.

It was an odd puzzle, one that niggled at him while he looked for and found the receipt for the taxes. It distracted him from his TV watching and accompanied him as he played the piano. He finally had to wipe it away mentally so he could sleep.

The next morning it came back to him as he brushed his teeth. Wout.

He checked his dictionary – nothing. He Googled it in vain, and was sidetracked by the website for the WOUT home design store in Amsterdam. His Dutch was a little rusty – and never focused on building products and home appliances, anyway – so translating all the text was a challenge that took a while.

From the front door of the hospital to the elevator bank, Cuddy yelled at him for being late, and tacked the time onto his Clinic hours. He saluted her with one finger, his longest, just before the elevator door closed.

The word came back to him just before lunch time. Wout. Wout, wout, wout.

He was still puzzling over it when he spotted Dean, the new Cardiology attending, in the cafeteria line. House hadn’t had enough experience with Dean to make a definitive decision, but so far he didn’t seem like a total idiot. Dean had said more than a few clever things; he had Cuddy’s respect, which was always a good sign; and he was about House’s age, so they had similar reference points. Plus, the lack of hate seemed mutual, for whatever reason.

Smirking just a bit, House cut into line just behind Dean. ”Dr. Diversity, I need your help with something.”

Dean didn’t bat an eye when House slipped his sandwich onto Dean’s tray. ”What’s up?”

“I ran across the word ‘wout’ and need to know what it means. I’m thinking it’s some ghetto slang, so I came straight to you.” He waved Dean away from the “lasagna” and toward the safer choice of spaghetti.

“Didn’t I hear that your father was career military?” Dean replied. He picked up two apples, putting one by House’s sandwich and one on his own plate. ”Whereas my father was a surgeon. So I’m thinking you probably grew up closer to the ghetto than I did.”

House nudged his food closer to Dean’s. ”Touché.”

“I’ve never heard the word ‘wout’ before, House; can’t help you.”

The cafeteria worker looked down at the tray and then back up at the two of them. “Separate or together?”

“Do we look like Ebony and Ivory?” Dean replied. ”The man can pay for his own food; I’m just carrying it for him. And why _am_ I even carrying it?” He thrust the sandwich and apple back at House.

“Because you like to step and fetch.” Wondering if that had maybe, just possibly, been one step too far, House eyed Dean carefully.

“Apparently, _you_ like to eat alone,” Dean retorted, with exasperation and a moderate amount of scorn. ”Just for that,” he told the cafeteria worker, “Dr. House will be paying for my lunch.”

“Hey!”

Walking away, wallet still firmly in his back pocket, Dean called over his shoulder, “Reparations, ya honky.”

House smiled to himself as he fished out at a twenty.

After lunch, the Hounds of Hell, also known as the two newest members of the nursing staff, arrived to escort him to the fiery depths – Brenda’s solution to the Clinic’s missing House dilemma.

It was not until he was half-dead from boredom that the solution to the puzzle of “wout” presented itself.

The patient was dressed in an anonymous navy business suit, with a conference nametag clipped neatly to her lapel. It was the first amusing thing House had seen this Clinic shift, and he took full advantage.

“Good afternoon,” he said. “What can I do for you today, Lester?”

The woman scowled before the last syllable faded away. ”My name is not Lester. It’s Laura. You can feel free to call me Ms. Ester. The hives started breaking out today…”

As he stared at her nametag, the rest of the patient’s words faded into a light buzzing. He had been teasing. Of course it wasn’t LESTER; it was L. ESTER. And it wasn’t WOUT; it was W. OUT.

W. Out.

W.

“Will you excuse me?” he mumbled. Ignoring whatever protest she might be making, he slammed the Exam Room door behind him and stormed into Cuddy’s office.

“Why didn’t you hire him back?” he yelled.

Cuddy murmured an excuse and hung up the receiver; he hadn’t even noticed she was on the phone. She rose slowly from her chair and looked House straight in the eye.

“What are you talking about?”

“Wilson! Wilson is out of prison, and he’s not here, which means you didn’t re-hire him, which is completely ridiculous. You know he did what he did for the good of the hospital–”

Cuddy interrupted, “House.”

“It’s total _bullshit_ not to give him his job back, and you know it, Cuddy!”

“House!” The woman had a pair of lungs on her, he could say that much. He closed his mouth but reserved the right to start ranting again.

“Better,” Cuddy said in a normal tone. ”I offered Wilson his previous position; he turned it down. Said he wanted a change of pace, which sounded reasonable to me.” She gave him a questioning look. ”When’s the last time you talked to him?”

House refused to answer and started bouncing his cane on the carpet. ”Where is he?”

“You don’t know?” Cuddy sounded surprised and concerned; House had never in his life wanted to punch her until that exact moment.

“ _Where is he_?” he repeated.

Shaking her head, Cuddy sat in her chair again. ”He moved down to Millville, in southern New Jersey, to be closer to his parents. When I talked to him yesterday –”

“You talked to him yesterday?”

Cuddy looked like she had slipped past concern, into thinking House was off his rocker. “Yes. We don’t talk that often, really, maybe once every three to four weeks. Anyway, when I talked to him yesterday, he said he started working at the hospice already. I told him he should take some time off, but he just laughed and said a year of nothing much to do was enough for him.” She smoothed out her desk blotter and sighed. “You’ve got to admire a spirit like that.”

“I suppose you do.” House had gone numb. He left without another word and returned to the exam room. He gave antihistamines to the hives lady, and then took his next patient. Twenty-three patients later, he was done for the day.

He was two steps into his apartment when the dam broke. Fuck Wilson. Fuck him. Fuck him for leaving, and fuck him for not coming back. Fuck him for not calling. Fuck him for not writing. Fuck him for not inserting himself into House’s life the way he was supposed to, the way he _always_ did. Fuck Wilson for losing that little red calendar, and losing track, and not trying harder, and being a shitty, shitty, shitty best friend.

House broke something large, heavy, and expensive and took a bottle of Jack Daniels to bed with him.


	2. Chapter 2

It took a week for the anger to die down, a week that was miserable for anyone who happened to cross House’s path. By the time he made the third hospital employee cry (fourth, if what he suspected about Chase’s “long lunch” on Tuesday was true), House was actually feeling better, although this had not yet translated into better behavior.

Cuddy’s blouse was hot pink, and the top button was only halfway fastened. While she ranted, he watched carefully, waiting for it to slip free. He was so mesmerized that he didn’t notice she’d stopped speaking until the binder clip bounced off his head.

“Ow!” he yelled, a little bit louder than was necessary, rubbing his forehead. ”I’ll check the employee handbook again, but I’m pretty sure physical abuse is not allowed.”

Cuddy crossed her arms, covering up that mischievous button. ”I just got it,” she said quietly. ”Stupid me, taking so long to catch on to what’s causing this current spate of obnoxiousness.”

“Nothing,” House muttered.

Cuddy flipped quickly through her Rolodex and then copied down a number. ”Sit,” she ordered firmly. House sat in the chair in front of her desk reluctantly, sullenly.

Moving to House’s side, she turned her phone around and slammed the number in front of him. ”Call.”

He looked at the ten digits, dismayed that they were so unfamiliar. ”I don’t need –”

“Call or you’re suspended without pay for a week.” Her tone allowed no argument. He was tempted to try it anyway until her hand dropped warmly onto his shoulder.

“Call him,” she repeated, and left the room.

Staring at the phone, he thought about creamed spinach. He had hated creamed spinach when he was little, but his father’s clean plate rule trumped all. He had sat five hours once, staring at the detested vegetable, until he had fallen asleep in his chair. When he woke the next morning, his father had forced him to eat it for breakfast.

It was marginally better warm and fresh. He picked up the phone.

“Millville Hospice. May I help you?”

He hadn’t actually expected it to be Wilson who answered, and it took him a moment to gather his thoughts.

“It’s all right. I’m here when you’re ready,” Wilson said patiently, straight out of the hospice handbook, probably, and God, this was awful.

“Hi. It’s me.”

“House? Wow, hi. How are you?” Wilson sounded pleasantly surprised, and that was irritating, somehow.

“Fine,” he responded brusquely. ”Cuddy told me to call.”

There was a little hitch before Wilson replied, “Why? Is something wrong?” He sounded worried, and House cut him off before he could go further down that path.

“No. Things are fine.” The lie that was about to come out of his mouth was pathetic, and he was sure Wilson would smell it on him. ”I’m going to Atlantic City this weekend, and Cuddy wants me to bring you something while I’m down there. It’s not really on the way, but I told her I’d do it anyway, because I am just that generous.”

“Generosity _is_ what you’re known for,” Wilson commented drolly, and it was almost like old times. ”Oh, no, wait; I’m thinking of someone else.”

House noticed his lips had turned up, but he wasn’t relieved; that would be ridiculous.

“Come on down. It’d be great to see you.”

Wilson was always too sincere for his own good, and no, that was _not_ relief that House felt.

Pushing past a lurking Cuddy, he informed her, “I’m taking tomorrow off.” If she smiled in response, he was far too busy to notice.

* * *

The hospice was small and pretty in a vague, nondescript way. Bland – all the better to ease the dying off into nothingness, House supposed.

Wilson met him in the lobby, with a smile that was as pleasantly bland as the atmosphere. ”When I die, I’m going kicking and screaming,” House said, “with the music turned up to eleven.”

“I know.” Now, _that_ was a more normal smile. ”Come on, we can talk in my office.”

The nameplate next to his door read, “James Wilson, Administrative Director.”

“Administrative? Not Medical Director?” House asked, as he settled into the most comfortable guest chair he’d ever sat in.

“With a suspended license, I can’t practice medicine, as I think you pointed out some time ago. But we have two excellent physicians who provide the medical care and prescribe. I do the administration, and some of the intake, and some of the counseling. It’s a good job; it suits me. I’m lucky my parents know the Executive Director.” Wilson did look very much at home behind his desk. It was interesting how similar it was to the one he’d had at the hospital, down to the childish knick-knacks littering the edge.

House picked up a cow in rain boots for closer inspection. ”You should get your license back; shame to waste all that training.”

“I will at some point, but for now I’m good with what I’m doing,” Wilson replied comfortably. ”My ‘silver tongue,’ as you called it, is a valuable resource for this line of work.”

Dumping the cow, House turned his attention to the pop-eyed stress ball. ”Do they still thank you for telling them they’re dying?”

Wilson chuckled lightly as House attempted to match the expression on the toy. ”They know they’re dying by the time they get here. They thank me for helping everyone get ready for it.” Wilson stuck his tongue out and crossed his eyes; it was a good approximation of the doll.

“The patients and their families don’t care you’re an ex-con?”

Wilson shrugged affably. ”It doesn’t come up in conversation much. And when it does, ‘I lied to keep my sick friend out of jail’ seems to be an acceptable reason to most people.”

“I wasn’t sick,” said House, annoyed.

“Yes, you were,” Wilson replied. ”Probably still are.”

House glared and squeezed the doll tighter. ”I’m doing fine. Pain hasn’t increased; mobility’s still the same.”

“Not what I’m talking about, and you know it.”

He squeezed the doll a few more times, thinking. No, he decided, they were not ready for that conversation, so he kept his mouth shut.

After a few more seconds, Wilson leaned forward. ”Do you have a hot date waiting for you in Atlantic City, or could you stay a while? My brother and a few friends are coming over tonight to watch the game, and you’re welcome to join us.”

House had expected an invitation – he would not admit to counting on it – but not quite like that. _Join **them**_ , his brain echoed. _Join Wilson and his **friends**._

Smiling, Wilson poked him gently with a finger. ”Come on and come. They’re not all your cup of tea, but you and Donovan have a lot in common. Remember him? He got out a couple months ago, and he lives just south of Philly. He’s got the sharpest sense of humor of anyone I know.”

“Yeah, all right,” House replied. He didn’t give a damn about Donovan, but he hadn’t come all this way for just a ten-minute chat.

“Unfortunately, I don’t get off work for another four hours –” Seeing House’s mouth open, Wilson held up a hand. “And no, I am not playing hooky only two weeks into a new job.”

He got up and started out of the room, gesturing for House to follow. ”The good news is that we have an unoccupied room you can hang out in that has a good TV and a wide selection of DVDs.”

“Porn?” House asked, as they fell into step together in the hall.

“No.”

“The dying don’t ever think about sex?”

“Our residents are encouraged to bring their cherished possessions from home, because we find there’s a lot of comfort in having the familiar close at hand.”

They stepped into a sunny, spacious room. The TV was generously sized, and House estimated there were at least forty DVDs in the cabinet Wilson opened.

“You really let patients bring in their own porn?” House was settling into the large recliner.

Wilson smiled slyly (House’s favorite smile of his). ”As long as everybody’s eighteen or older. And they keep the noise down.” He pointed. ”Headphones are helpful for that.”

House shut off his brain, watched drivel television and a mindless movie, and napped. Wilson left some snacks for him while he was sleeping, but otherwise was absent until the end of the day.

As they walked out, it seemed like every person they passed in the halls wanted to say goodbye to Wilson. And every single one of them called him “Jim.”

“Jim?”

Wilson shrugged. ”They don’t go by last names here.”

“What’s wrong with Jimmy?”

“A little juvenile, and James seems too formal. Actually, I started going by Jim soon after I got to Morgantown.”

House blinked. ”Donovan called you Jimmy.”

“I’m surprised you remember that. But yeah, he did. Still does. But it’s an affectation – like when this other guy I knew used to call me Jimmy.” He nudged House with his shoulder, nodding toward House’s car. ”You going to follow me?”

“Everywhere you go.”

* * *

Wilson was renting a small two-bedroom house just a few minutes from the hospice. It looked well lived-in, but when House accused Wilson of being married again, he just laughed and said the place came furnished.

They knocked around for an hour or so, House drinking beer and Wilson putting together sandwiches, before Wilson’s brother Seth arrived. Three other men – two high school friends of Wilson’s and a friend of Seth’s – joined them in quick succession. Donovan made it there later, after the game had already started.

House felt off-kilter the entire evening. He wasn’t used to being around so many people, and sharing Wilson’s attention made him irritable. He spent a lot of his time in the kitchen, trying not to hear Wilson’s laughter and thus listening to Donovan’s tirades instead. At first they amused him, then they irritated him, and then he and Donovan almost ended up in a fistfight. Wilson got between them easily, and escorted Donovan to the door, sending him off in laughter from a private joke. House scowled and opened another beer.

Mentally, he kicked his feet and sulked and whined until the last person had gone out the door. Then he suddenly felt shy. He couldn’t think of what to say next, couldn’t find a pattern to press this moment into.

“I should go,” he said.

Wilson looked up from the dishes, scrub brush stilling. ”Where? Back to Princeton? Nah, it’s way too late; stay in the guest room. Don’t say a word about the sheets, though. I set it up so my nephews could stay over.”

House nodded and Wilson turned back to the sink. House grabbed a dishtowel and started drying a clean plate. ”You should get your license back and come back to the hospital.”

“Why?” Wilson tugged House’s dishtowel away and handed him a cleaner one.

“Your replacement, Esslinger, is terrible. Nobody likes her.”

Wilson smirked and flicked a soap bubble at him. ”Since when has that ever mattered to you?”

“Patient complaints for oncology are through the roof and mortality’s even gone up a little.” House focused on drying a glass, but tried to size up Wilson’s reaction in his peripheral vision.

Putting down the brush and wiping his hands, Wilson turned toward House. He leaned against the sink with one hip and crossed his arms lightly. ”That’s why the hospital might want me back; why would I want to return?”

“What?” House shoved the glass in the cabinet in front of him; Wilson leaned over and grabbed it, and put it away in the next cabinet over.

“You’re selling me why Princeton needs _me_ ,” he continued, “not why I need Princeton.”

“Isn’t someone needing you what you need? Or am I thinking of someone else?”

Wilson smiled and pulled the stopper out of the sink.

“It’s not enough for me any more, House.”

Without waiting for the water to drain away, Wilson started out of the kitchen. He called back pleasantly, “I’m going to bed. I’ll make you pancakes in the morning before you go.”

House tossed and turned on the Battlestar Galactica sheets for what could have been an hour or could have been several. He was back in his apartment before sunrise.

* * *

In odd moments of the day and night over the next week, the question came back to him. Why would Wilson want to come back to Princeton? As strange as it was to be considering all the positive aspects of a situation, he dutifully made a list.

He came up with a long list, three columns on the whiteboard – and his team got their kicks trying to figure out what the items meant because he certainly wasn’t telling them – but had to acknowledge in the end that the reasons were all rather generic. He had listed why _somebody_ might want to live in this town and work in this hospital. Nothing seemed persuasive as to why Wilson would.

When the feeling of desperation started to creep out of his dreams and into his waking hours, he surrendered his pride. He called Wilson’s mother to ask for Wilson’s new cell number.

He said that he had lost the number, and how pathetic was he that even someone as removed as a friend’s mother believed he was that disorganized, that thoughtless? She gave it to him cheerfully and mentioned his absence from Wilson’s life with no hint of reproach. Guiltily, he thanked her for the almost-forgotten holiday card and got off the phone as quickly as he could.

Two days later, after carrying it like a talisman but not using it, he actually did lose the number. More desperation, and in his embarrassment over feeling that way, he came close to stabbing Foreman with a fork during a lunch-time argument. Dean intervened and escorted the younger doctor away.

“That’s the last straw – he’s a racist!” Foreman yelled in the middle of the cafeteria, and he was _so_ not winning Diagnostics employee of the month.

“How long have you known him?” asked Dean, gripping Foreman’s elbow to guide him out the door. ”He’s not a racist; he’s just an asshole.”

House sighed and slurped his soda loudly. _Somebody_ understood him.

After lunch, he gave up and called the hospice. As he’d suspected, Wilson was too busy to talk for more than a minute but promised to call that evening.

Just because House watched seven straight hours of television that night didn’t mean he was waiting by the phone.

* * *

They talked the next night – a catching-up kind of call about nothing in particular. Wilson didn’t mention House abruptly leaving Millville, and House didn’t mention Wilson not leaving Millville.

There were more calls after that, more or less regular, two or three times a week. Short calls at work, and longer calls in the evening. Wilson finally forked over his home and cell numbers unprompted, and House copied them into every phone list he had.

But the tenor of their conversations had changed. A couple of laughs, but mostly they were… newsy. Chit-chat. Nothing important, and nothing all that interesting. House called Wilson on it one day. Vehemently.

“Is there nothing happening in your life at all? Why are we talking about the goddamned Bridgeton Peewee Baseball team?”

“Because I’m helping to sponsor them,” Wilson replied, his voice turning a few degrees colder.

“What are they, the Millville Hospice Corpses? Team mascot is a zombie?”

“Pleasant, House. Very nice. They’re six years old, they hardly have any money, and they want to play baseball. You have a problem with me helping them out?” Wilson’s voice was rising in both tone and volume.

“I have a problem with always talking about the same boring things. You never used to be like this! Sure, you had the respectable facade, but you were never so damned deadly dull!”

The crash of the receiver hitting the base startled House. _Why isn’t Wilson‘s home phone cordless?_ was his first thought. And _Fuck him, rude bastard_ was his second.

* * *

The problem, House had known all along, was proximity. As the radio silence from Wilson’s end stretched into its third week, House’s mind made the connection and flipped the puzzle. Mohammed to the mountain, mountain to Mohammed.

He finagled an early Vicodin refill out of Cuddy without telling her what it was for and packed a large duffle bag. When he got to Wilson’s house at midnight, he apologized for the zombie crack and slept like a log between the battlecruisers.

The next morning was a Saturday, and Wilson’s day off. He had Saturdays and Wednesdays off, Sunday being apparently a popular day to start dying.

They ate pancakes, five kinds, in such quantities as to make House actually feel nauseated. Wilson was looking a little green around the gills too, so for the rest of the morning they stayed within dashing distance of the toilet and watched very old reruns of General Hospital. Fashions of yesteryear, but the plotlines were the same to a remarkable extent.

In the afternoon, Wilson forced him to go to a Peewee Baseball game (they were the Bridgeton Bulldogs, it turned out). After an hour on the bleachers, House reluctantly admitted to having a good time. The hot dogs were excellent (Hebrew National all-beef), the beer was crappy but cheap, and there was something inherently amusing in watching a five-strikes-and-you’re-out game. The best play of the day was a miracle, closed-eyed catch in the outfield, and House cheered as loudly as anyone there.

Dinner was cotton candy and three Grolsch beers apiece. They laughed over Chase’s latest dating fiasco for far longer than the story even called for.

Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday House poked around the hospice, the town, and Wilson’s house, in no particular order, and waited. They had dinner out, and in, and with Wilson’s girlfriend Emily (“She’s a stripper” – “Really?” – “No”) who had a spark of independence never before seen in a Wilson conquest. On his daily early morning calls to Cuddy, House’s “cold” mated with a stomach virus and spawned the flu. Cuddy growled.

Wednesday they went to Philadelphia and played Stump the Tour Guide, a favorite game of House’s. It began with queries straight from the attraction’s pamphlet – amazing how many times one could win right there – and went on to bizarre, almost philosophical questions. He’d known Wilson was a champ in the querying role, second only to House himself of course, but he was amazed how much colonial trivia the man possessed. They attracted quite a following at the Betsy Ross house, and the volunteer guides’ noses were satisfyingly out of joint.

After a quick trip to the Mutter Museum (nineteenth century medical oddities), Wilson having vetoed a visit to the Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, they made their way slowly back to Millville, stopping here and there for no particular reason and talking about everything and nothing. ”I love you,” House told Wilson at one point, but given that Wilson was fifty feet away at that point, pissing into a bush, there was absolutely no chance that he heard.

Thursday House played every single game he had for his PSP and memorized a year’s worth of word-of-the-day entries from Wilson’s desk calendar (although technically he only memorized thirty-seven words – the rest he had already known). Wilson stopped taking his calls after the seventeenth one, but on the plus side he came home early.

Together they made what House officially crowned “The World’s Most Complicated Dinner” with nineteen ingredients and multiple pots and pans and half the spice rack. ”I still prefer pizza,” House editorialized after the first bite, and Wilson beat him soundly with oven mitts.

After dinner – which truth be told was much better than pizza – they retreated to the living room. Wilson read the paper and House pretended to watch TV. ”You need a piano,” he grumbled.

“Or a hole in my head, one or the other,” Wilson replied from behind the paper. ”I’m thinking about getting a guitar, though. Chicks dig that, right?”

House scoffed. ”Chicks dig it when you can actually _play_ , not when it’s solely a prop for seduction. Speaking of which…”

Lowering the paper, Wilson cocked an eyebrow at him quizzically.

“I found your man-love little black book,” House continued smugly.

“Um…”

House produced the stapled packet from where he’d hidden it behind the seat cushions and waved it in Wilson’s direction. ”An ‘alumni’ directory for Morgantown Correctional Institution? If it’s not for reuniting with old gay loves, what’s it for?”

Wilson ignored the bait but took up the conversation. ”Actually, _I_ put it together. A lot of the guys I met there – not all certainly, but a good number – are decent people. Intelligent, funny, worthwhile. I wouldn’t let any of them handle my finances, but beyond that, they’re people who made mistakes they won’t be repeating.”

Looking at the printed list of names and numbers, House tried not to assess whether Wilson would count him in that group. ”Donovan didn’t seem too repentant.”

Wilson laughed genuinely. ”He’s not. But he’s definitely not getting married again, so he’s keeping himself out of temptation’s way.”

“So.” House slapped the packet against his knee a few times and swallowed. He wanted to ask, but he didn’t, at the same time. ”These guys are your friends?”

Wilson leaned over and pulled the packet away from him. ”Some of them. Some are just acquaintances. And, it’s a reminder of what I went through. They rushed us through the gift shop on the last day, not enough time for me to buy a sweatshirt.”

House wanted to know; he didn’t want to know. He couldn’t decide if Wilson wanted him to ask. The inside of his mind vibrated a little, starting to turn, and he was reminded of the dervish that had consumed him when Wilson said goodbye. _This room really needs a goddamned piano._

“Do you want –” House stopped, feeling like a teenaged virgin; hesitant, a little bit scared, doubtful this would be as good as people always said it was. _Damn it, Greg, just eat the fucking quiche_ screamed a voice that sounded nothing like his father. ”Do you want to talk about what prison was like?” he asked the couch cushion.

“It was fine,” Wilson replied nonchalantly.

House looked up, annoyed at the blithe disregard of him giving up his sacred flower. ”It was fine? Well, that’s nice. Don’t let anyone know; you wouldn’t want to be responsible for wiping out the deterrent effect on crime.” Wilson smirked; House glared. ”Tell me, you prick, how it matched up against your expectations.”

Settling into his seat, Wilson stared off into the distance. ”It was… boring. And petty. A lot of rules, and no privacy at all. The quarters are dormitory-style, all the beds in a row, like an open hospital ward.” Wilson re-focused on House. ” _You_ wouldn’t last longer than a month.”

Offended, House narrowed his eyes. ”You’re saying I’m not tough?”

“I’m saying you’d go nuts and get transferred to a psych facility or higher security. Solitary confinement you’d bull your way through just fine, but this… You have to work hard to find anything worthwhile to do, and there aren’t that many amusements for the other times; a lot of times all that’s available is being social, talking to other people.”

“You seem relatively unscarred.”

Wilson shrugged. ”I didn’t like it; I would rather have been home. But in a way, turning your life over to someone else can be freeing. No pressure; no worry about your decisions because you’re not really making any.”

“So you figured out you’re a submissive?” House scoffed. ”I could have told you that years ago.”

“It was a break from the way my life had been before. Which I needed, although I didn’t realize it at the time.” Wilson nodded and threw his newspaper on the coffee table. He stared at the Morgantown list, but didn’t seem to be seeing it. “But I’m not going back.”

House’s heart pounded. _I’m not going back_ – Wilson had said it with determination, with finality. He meant it. But which “back” was it?

“I learned a lot about myself at Morgantown,” Wilson continued, thoroughly unaware of House’s adrenaline surge, “and I thought, really thought, about my life.”

He looked at House, a deep look that seemed to last for hours. There was something to read there, an epic, and it was in a language House hadn’t learned.

“That’s how I ended up at the hospice.”

House blinked.

“What?” he asked in confusion.

Wilson leaned forward, a smile playing around his lips. ”What’s wrong with you? You look dopey. I said, ‘the hospice.’ You know, where I work?”

House took refuge in sarcasm. ”I have some familiarity. DVDs and the near-deceased, right?”

“Yep, that one. You were right.”

“Aren’t I always?”

“That Greg House, I always tell the Nobel committee, such a humble man. There’s no way he’d accept the nomination.”

They shared a grin, and Wilson went on. ”You were right when you accused me of needing to be needed. Your vampire imagery aside, it’s true – that’s part of who I am. In Morgantown, I quit fighting and embraced it, and started figuring out how best to use it as a strength. As people are dying, they need so much, and their families need even more. By working at the hospice, I can help them, I can guide them into acceptance, I can make them feel secure and prepared.

“And because _my_ need is being met so thoroughly at work, I don’t feel it so strongly in my personal life. My friends and my girlfriend I can just – enjoy. It’s a really nice feeling. Peaceful.”

A sparkle in his eye, Wilson laughed. ”Listen to me, I sound like I’m in a cult.” He took on a mock-serious expression and began slowly beckoning with both hands.

“Come. Join us, House. The Leader sees all; The Leader knows all. He can protect you and comfort you. Join us in the Church of the Mentally Healthy.” He extended his left hand dramatically, and House promptly swatted it away.

“Get away from me, you freak.”

They dissolved into laughter.

Friday morning House was screaming, “A man can’t get the goddamned flu?” into the phone when Wilson came into the kitchen, buttoning his sleeves. Wilson promptly rolled his eyes, grabbed a bagel, and walked out the front door.

“You are certainly welcome to have the flu any time,” Cuddy retorted. ”Lord knows on occasion I’m tempted to infect you with it, just to get you out of my hair, but you do _not_ have it now, so stop this charade and get back to work.”

“Just because I’m not throwing up on your spank-me stilettos –”

“Did you forget who you have working for you? Cameron’s been by your place three times to bring you chicken soup and anti-nausea meds. You’re not there; you don’t have the flu; you’re gallivanting about some place, and it ends today. Get back into the hospital on Monday or you’re fired.”

“Tenure,” House spat. ”You can’t just fire me like that.”

“No, but I can tie you up in so many meetings about the issue you’ll wish you were never born. I can’t run this hospital one department head short just on your whim, House.”

She must have heard him move the phone away from his ear, because he heard the bellow of “Monday!” from more than two feet away as he snapped his cell phone shut.

There was nothing on TV, and he was bored with his videogames. He stamped his feet; he left a message for his mother; he made origami animals out of Wilson’s mail. Then he went out and found a hardware store.

When Wilson made it back around six, House was just about done.

“House!” Wilson barked, which House felt showed a distinct lack of appreciation for all his hard work.

“You’re the one who wanted the spaceship theme for this room. I just completed the look for you.” He thought the black walls looked sharp. Just a few more glow-in-the-dark stars and the effect would be perfect.

Wilson pinched the bridge of his nose, and House smirked. It had been a long time since he’d elicited that gesture; it was good to see it again.

“Come on; don’t be like that. I put down drop cloths and everything.”

“Have you forgotten that I rent this house? I’m going to have re-paint this all, and how the hell can I get beige paint over black?”

“Lots and lots of primer. But you’ve got a lease, so you don’t have to worry about that for months. And your nephews are going to love it in the interim.” House stuck up the last star, and then made his way carefully past the open paint trays and roller. ”What’s for dinner?”

Wilson followed him to the bathroom and watched him wash his hands. ”I need to talk to you about that.”

“Existential crisis about selecting dinner? Oh, yes, forgot you’re a secret sub. You can just let me choose for you; I’d be happy to.”

“No,” Wilson laughed, shaking his head. ”It’s not that.” He took a big breath. ”I think you should go home.”

His heart dropping, House stared for a moment. Was this how Wilson had felt that one morning in the bathroom when House had said they shouldn’t room together? He pushed past Wilson and on into the living room.

“You’re kicking me out?” he asked, a little more sadly than he wanted to let on. ”I can paint the room back.”

“It’s not about the room. I was… surprised when I saw it, but you’re right. My nephews are going to give me major ‘cool uncle’ points for that. So, thanks.”

House was not mollified. He couldn’t meet Wilson’s eyes.

“But, as your friend,” Wilson continued, “I have to tell you that you should go. You’re bored, House. There’s nothing for you to do here.”

“You’re here.”

Wilson sighed. ”And if I could make a living just entertaining you all day… I still wouldn’t, because at some point, you’d kill me where I stood for boring you to tears.” His voice was warm, with a tinge of affection as he said, “Get on out of here, get back in the action, where all the cool diseases hang out.”

Wilson, damn him, was right. House _was_ bored. He missed the hospital: the challenges, the rhythm, the Reubens, Cuddy’s wardrobe, and yelling at the kids. And he missed his apartment and his things. Proximity was still the problem.

He looked up and caught Wilson’s eye. ”Did I tell you I thought up your hospice’s new slogan?”

Wilson adjusted to the shift in conversation as fluidly as always. ”No. What is it?”

“We’re not just for people; dreams die here, too!” House’s grinned widely.

“Catchy.” Wilson had his hands on his hips, superhero style. It didn’t have quite the same panache without the lab coat to serve as a cape.

“It’d shut y’all down, for sure.”

“Which is what every slogan should do.”

House took a small step closer. ”Then you could come back to Princeton.”

A long look between them and House could read this one just fine. It wasn’t what he wanted to see. This kind of puzzle was more Wilson’s forte than his, and he wanted desperately for Jimmy to pull the miracle solution out of thin air. That wasn’t going to happen.

“Tell you what, House: why don’t you go home and start on the artwork for this campaign?”

“If you’ll get going on the media buy.”

Wilson smiled and nodded. ”Let’s get you packed.”

* * *

The patient’s symptoms were strange, the strangest they’d seen in a while. Nothing immediately life-threatening but persistent and in odd combinations. They ended up circling environmental factors as the most likely cause, and House decided to send Chase on the search through the patient’s house.

“Can I get back by one? Let me check the patient’s – Where the hell is Bridgeton?”

House perked up. ”Bridgeton‘s in southern New Jersey, about an hour and a half. Is that where she lives?”

“Yeah,” Chase groaned.

“It’s your lucky day, Dr. Chase. You get a fascinating and extraordinarily handsome companion on your trip down South.”

“Foreman’s coming with me?”

Foreman threw them his one eyebrow move, as House grabbed his cane and his backpack. ”Didn’t know you thought of Foreman that way, Chase. Make sure you invite me to the civil union ceremony. You still have that clunker of a car?”

“Yes.” Chase was slinging his bag over his shoulder.

“Then we’ll take mine. But you’re driving.”

Ignoring Chase’s protests, House dropped him off at the patient’s address and made his way to Millville. He was pleased that after six months he still remembered exactly where the hospice was.

Conveniently, Wilson was wrapping up a conversation with a family when House walked into the lobby. He took a seat on a couch and waited.

He felt immeasurably warmer when Wilson sat next to him. Close his eyes, change the smooth jazz to The Who, and they could be back at his apartment having a drink.

“You’re a sight for sore eyes,” Wilson breathed.

“You are the only person on this planet who would say that,” replied House.

“Aw, come on.” Wilson nudged him gently. ”Your mom likes you.”

“Yes, but she wouldn’t say that. I’m critiquing your conversational creativity, not my appeal as a human being.”

“Ah.” Wilson smiled.

“Don’t be smug. I’ll have you know I’ve made a friend – a good friend. He’s a cardiology attending named Dean.”

“Is that his first name or last name?”

“Both. Dean Dean. Can you believe it? I told him his parents must be loons, and then I met them and found out they _are_ loons. Stark raving.”

Wilson laughed. “Is he loony, too?”

“Just enough.”

“Does he support you in the manner to which you used to be accustomed?”

“He’ll buy me coffee but not lunch. I usually swipe half of his lunch, anyway, so it’s all good. He can’t cook worth a damn, and he won’t drink beer, but he’s got a pretty good bawdy limerick collection, and he appreciates hockey a hell of a lot more than you ever did.”

Wilson‘s smile had settled into something almost wistful. ”Sounds like a good guy.”

“Yeah, he is. I’m dating someone, too. Her name’s Trish. I met her at an NA meeting.”

“You’re going to Narcotics Anonymous.”

House sensed a bit of skepticism under Wilson’s even tone, and he jabbed Wilson’s toes with his cane in retaliation.

“Dean dragged me there. Said he’d been going on and off for years because he used to drop acid. Right. He knows zippo about the drug, but I let him maintain the lie.”

“How are the meetings?”

“Mostly boring, but you know, Trish’s there, and Dean, and every once in a while something interesting happens. One time, I found a case of cutaneous and systemic plasmacytosis.”

“Yeah?” Wilson asked curiously.

“The gal thought it was moles. Huh.”

Wilson raised his eyebrows and then dropped them back down. ”Doesn’t sound too bad. I hate to even mention it, but it’s probably good for you that you’re going.”

“Probably. Did you ever get your license back?”

“Yes, I did. I still don’t practice much, but it makes it easier if a patient needs a change in meds or we need a death pronounced and none of the other physicians are around.” Wilson used both palms to smooth his slacks down.

The silence between them stretched peacefully until Wilson broke it.

“You sound like you’re doing well.”

Exasperation filled House and he had to refrain from whacking Wilson with his cane. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t give me your ‘dead man walking’ voice. I’m not your patient or your charity case, so don’t treat me that way.” He fixed Wilson with a glare.

Throwing his hands up, Wilson ducked. ”I wasn’t. Really. Fine.” His tone had gone back to normal.

“Are you still seeing that woman?”

“Who?”

“I don’t know; you know I’m terrible with names. Average height, brown hair, seemed to hate me.” A vague gesture didn’t seem to help, either.

“That describes a lot of women. Wait a minute, if it was someone you met from here, then you probably mean Emily.”

“That sounds right.”

“We broke up a while ago. It wasn’t anything serious to begin with. I’ve dated a few people since then, but nothing’s really stuck. That’s OK; I’m satisfied with how things are.”

“James Wilson is satisfied not being married. I never thought I’d see the day.”

Wilson snorted. ”I never thought you would either. I’ve got a few things to finish up, but then would you want to catch a movie? Local theater’s got a B-grade horror festival going on.”

House stood up and Wilson followed. ”I can’t. Chase is checking out a patient’s house in Bridgeton, and I’ve got to go pick him up before the police do. And Dean finally conned this lab tech into going out with him, so Trish and I are going to meet up with them later.”

“Sounds fun. It was great to see you, House. Take care of yourself.” Wilson stuck out his hand to shake. House stared at it for a few moments – had the two of them ever shaken hands before? – and then pulled Wilson into a full hug.

Wilson was stiff for a second, no doubt from surprise, but then he relaxed. He patted House on the back affectionately with three manly thumps. House echoed the pats and then let go. He answered Wilson’s smile and then watched him walk happily back into his office.

As he was walking out the front door of the hospice, a wave of emotion hit him and he had to stop. He leaned heavily on his cane and pressed his other hand into his face.

“Oh, dear,” said a nearby wavery voice. He looked up with slightly blurred vision to see an elderly woman standing quite close to him, watching his face carefully. ”Did you just lose someone close to you?”

“My best friend,” he replied.

She rubbed his arm kindly. ”They have excellent grief counselors here, you know. James Wilson in particular is a very kind and helpful man.”

“I know.” He took a step back and pulled the front door open for her. She touched him one more time, smiled sadly in farewell, and made her way into the building.

As the door swung shut, House looked out over the parking lot and sighed. Time to go home.


End file.
